I found it to be the ideal year-round island for every season of the year. The year-round temperature ranges from 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Barbados is a small island with a population of less than one-fourth the population of the Town of Hempstead and covers just about 160-square miles in surface area. It is the eastern-most island in the Caribbean, located in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the British West Indies. Coral limestone is the base of most of the island. At its highest point, Mount Hillaby is 1600 feet above sea level. On its western border, I found wonderful pristine white sand beaches and sugar cane plantations and tropical greenery along the interior of the island.
The peace-loving Arawak Indians were the original occupants, but were driven out by the more aggressive Carib Indians. A Portuguese explorer, Pedro Campos stopped at Barbados in 1536 on his way to Brazil. He named the island Barbados because of the swaying aerial roots of the native ficus trees that reminded him of beards, the Portuguese word for beards.
But then the British came in 1625 and two years later in 1627 settled in Jamestown, and then the following year a rival settlement was established in Bridgetown now the capital city of Barbados. The English settlers brought tobacco, cotton and sugar cane from their neighboring colony of Guyana that became the basic economic foundation of Barbados and is still an important economic factor for the island population. To tend to the crops, the British brought in thousands of black slaves from West Africa. Their descendants comprise a majority of the island's population today. This population boasts of the highest literacy rate in the world with 98 percent of the population reading and writing in the official English language.
Barbados remained a British colony until 1966 when it received its independence from the British crown. However, I found it resembled England in many ways and can understand why it is referred to as "Little England." I recall that on Sundays, you can see women clad in their lovely dresses and wearing hats on their way to the Anglican church in town. Need I add that their proper gentlemen escorts wore shirts, ties and jackets. Their British heritage is alive and well from afternoon tea to cricket matches and dressing for dinner.
Barbados has also become a popular wedding destination. As a matter of fact, golfer Tiger Woods and his Scandinavian wife chose Barbados as the site for their wedding vows, possibly because of the awesome tropical atmosphere and the relatively simple marriage regulations. Now, they are happily wed and celebrating the parent hood of a two-year-old daughter and a newborn son. Then because of the celebrity of the groom, the ease of marrying on the day of arrival in Barbados with the thought of keeping the press away was probably another reason for the couple's choice of this locale to tie the knot.
Additionally, just 18 miles from the airport, I found the delightful hotel, "Cobblers Cove" on Barbados' Gold Coast in the parish of St. Peter and less than a mile from duty-free shopping. The hotel also abuts the former home of Academy Award actress Claudette Colbert who chose this site on Barbados to escape the rigors of life in Hollywood. What a grand beach house property! Cobblers Cove was originally built in 1943 by one of the original British Haynes families who settled on the island to raise sugar cane in 1647. This was their beach house to enjoy the swimming in the calm cove waters and escape from their daily concerns. Another family, the Colletons, original founders of South Carolina, then bought the property 25 years later and converted it to Cobblers Cove which I found to be a perfect hideaway. Actually, Cobblers Cove was "conceived as a sanctuary, a place for rejuvenation and the pursuit of pleasure."
The property is home to 40 luxury suites sharing a common theme, melding classical English style with the casual comfort of the Caribbean. All the lovely furnishings are made on the island with the traditional fabrics and colors of the West Indies. Additionally, Cobblers Cove has always reflected its Bajan heritage. The original steel in the buildings came from the old island railway and the decorative coral rock was prepared for construction on the island. I found the architecture to be a perfect blend of the grandeur of the English monarchy, in its castle motif with the warmth of the Caribbean sun. And all in all Barbados is an ideal island for family fun.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
